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Thursday, February 18, 2016

Cory Booker Scrubs Mentor Shmuley From His Memoir

Observer.com - Sen. Cory Booker retaliates against close friend Shmuley Boteach over Iran deal criticism. The Garden State Democrat released his first book, United, recounting personal stories of his “political and personal awakening.” Mr. Booker’s message is one of cooperation—working together for the common good. With more than six pages acknowledging people to whom the senator is “indebted,” Rabbi Shmuley Boteach stands out as a glaring omission. He’s entirely unmentioned in the book. The well-known rabbi (who writes frequently for the Observer) is known to have enjoyed an unusually close friendship with the senator for more than 20 years, since they met at Oxford University, where Mr. Booker was a Rhodes Scholar and Mr. Boteach headed the prestigious school’s L’chaim Society. When a reporter brought the omission to Mr. Boteach’s attention, the rabbi wasn’t surprised the senator did not acknowledge his impact on Booker’s life, explaining, “It’s no secret that our relationship has become very strained, as I was shocked that Cory voted for the Iran deal.” Since September, Boteach has publicly voiced his disappointment with Booker. This comes after he publicly reassured the Jewish community and supporters of Israel that Booker would “do the right thing” regarding the Iran nuclear deal. “If Cory expected me to be silent while playing politics with the future of my people, I could not do that. If he expected me, in the name of our soul-friendship and my 25 years of dedication and personal loyalty, to remain silent while Iran is given an astonishing sum to kill people and threaten Jews with a second Holocaust, he could have never have expected that,” explained Boteach. “As for the omission, it’s a small price to pay for speaking out for the protection of my people. I understand that Cory is upset that I criticized his decision. I understand that he feels that in the name of friendship I should have been silent. He’ll just have to get over it. Protesting incitement to genocide transcends every consideration, including what is to both of us a very special friendship.” Read more at The Observer